When it all comes down to it, it’s all about the seeds baby.

At the farm we are seeding constantly from the end of July through April. Since we want to ensure we grow healthy, organic produce all of our crops are grown with organic seed that is non-GMO and untreated. As it truly is where it all starts we only purchase our seed from reputable organic seed growers. If you’re interested in getting organic seed stop by the Sunday Market to check out Two Seeds in A Pod and Willow LaMonte’s seed selections.

Over the course of a season, we grow about 100 different varieties of crops from seed. The majority of these seeds will be planted into trays to first be put in our greenhouse and then later be transplanted into the fields. Some crops, like radishes, turnips, carrots, and beets, we seed directly into the fields without transplanting.

This week our farm team seeded various cabbage, cauliflower, ridicchio, and lettuce varieties. These vegetables dig the cool Florida winter weather and soil temperatures. In fact, crops like lettuce need a specific temperature range in order to germinate. Lettuce seeds will not germinate in soil above 80 degrees Fahrenheit and the optimal temperate for them successfully germinate is 60-68 degrees Fahrenheit.

The various crops we grow can take anywhere from 20-120 days to mature to be harvested from seed. The amount of time it takes a crop to be ready for harvest is determined by its type, hours of sunlight each day, and soil quality. The crops we planted this week will take about 75 days to mature based on the type of crops they are and the fact that we receiving less and less hours of daylight as we near the winter solstice.

And that’s how it grows.

Winter colors are starting to seep into the CSA share these coming weeks. Out in the fields we have the Alcosa Cabbage with its crinkly green leaves and yellow interior, bright orange carrots, blood red beets, and forest green broccoli (though the broc hasn’t been loving this surge in heat again these past two days– thanks a lot climate change) getting closer to being ready for harvest.

One of the colorful items coming into the share this week is the Shunkyo Long Radishes. These ruddy-pink radishes are a variety from Japan. While radishes can vary in shape, size and color as a whole they are well known for being beneficial for the liver, to ease digestion and as a blood cleanser. The roots as well as the leaves are edible and are good raw or cooked.  The radish leaves have a similar nutritional content to other dark leafy greens such as kale and collards.  If the flavor of radish root is a little to strong for your taste try cooking them to help dull their potency.

If you are looking for new ways to strive to stay healthy through the winter season, check out Willow LaMonte’s new workshop “Herbal Help for Colds and Flu” tomorrow during the Sunday Market from 1:00-3:00pm.

See you at the farm!

Arggg, more heavy rain. By more, we estimate we received 5 solid inches at the farm. Luckily at this time of year most of the crops can withstand the mighty deluge we experienced this past week. The greens are among the many strong crops that are still looking and tasting great.   In particular the Muir lettuce stands out this week for its bright color and crisp, bright taste. The Muir lettuce is a Batavian type of lettuce (AKA summer crisp) and is known for its crunchy leaves and heat tolerance. Kenny, Lead Farmer and novice lettuce historian, claims this lettuce might have received it’s name from the great conservationist John Muir. He hardily believes this, as both Muirs are known for adapting well to their outdoor environments.

Community members can still sign up for a CSA vegetable share this season and try new, unique and nutritious crop varieties like the Muir Lettuce. Our crops are harvested the morning you pick them up, so you are get not only organic produce but the absolutely freshest produce as well. Get the word out on the benefits of joining a CSA and help support local agriculture. For more information on signing up for a CSA membership please click here.

Notice how sweet that Dino Kale is!  These cool nights are perfect for growing crisp and sweet leafy greens.  In order to survive frosty conditions most greens will convert starch to carbohydrates.  Try eating the Dino Kale raw this week to enjoy its new sweeter taste.  Be sure to remove the stems and then massage a citrus vinaigrette into the leaves.  The result will be crispy and bright and the citrus will highlight the new sugar profile. This dish is a perfect healthy dish to accompany your Thanksgiving meal.

Add some of this week’s first harvest sweet spring onions and the gorgeous red and white salad turnips and you’ve got yourself a lovely and rustic salad.  Also, look for our first harvest of some perfect green leaf lettuce heads.  They also thrive in these cool nights. Not everybody loves the cold but those green vegetables do!

My Favorite Citrus Vinaigrette

from Bon Appétit

• 1 small shallot, finely chopped
• ¾ cup olive oil
• ¼ cup Champagne vinegar or white wine vinegar
• 3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
• 2 tablespoons fresh orange juice
• ¼ teaspoon finely grated lemon zest
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

• Combine first 6 ingredients in a small jar; season vinaigrette to taste with salt and pepper. Shake to blend.
• DO AHEAD: Vinaigrette can be made 1 week ahead. Cover and chill. Shake before using.

As you’re preparing for the holidays, you can now give your friends and family the gift of health with a Sweetwater Farm Stand gift certificate. It may be used towards anything in the Sweetwater Farm Stand including all Sweetwater grown produce, certified organic Global Organics produce, organic coffee, and shirts.  Or your loved one may apply their gift certificate towards a Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) share.  Gift certificates are available for purchase during the Sunday Market.

Welcome members new and old to the start of Sweetwater Community Organic Farm’s 22nd CSA season.  I can say with a smile on my face and a sigh of relief that the fields are looking great!  Our rows are bright green and full of life and most of the plants are thriving in the crisp, cool Autumn nights that we’ve been blessed with recently.  Most of you know there were a few set backs in the way of heavy rains and oppressive heat but the dog days of summer are behind us and our harvests look to be plentiful and delicious.

This week’s offering will be very healthy and green with lots of kale and collards as well as two different Asian greens and some beautiful red mustards.  Turnips and radishes will add a bit of color and the sweet tang of basil still fills the air.  Each week the newsletter will discuss “our best guess” of what we will bring to market.  Please keep in mind that farming has many variables so we present a list of probable items.  The only guarantee is that we will do our best to bring you the healthiest and freshest vegetables available.

Below is a discussion of important procedural items.  Please follow these so that we can ensure our best effort on your behalf.  Yesterday, you should have received a confirmation of your first pick up date and location. If you did not or if you have any questions regarding your pick up please respond to this email. The following are some helpful points on this season’s pick up process:

• If you opted for a payment plan, you must be up-to-date on all payments in order to pick up your share.
• Please bring reusable bags with you to your pick-up.  There are a limited number of recycled plastic bags that staff and members have brought in that can be used in case you forget your bags.  Please save any plastic grocery bags you have from home and bring them to the pick-up to share with the community.
• There will be a sign-in table where the CSA shares are picked up. You will need to initial next to your name on the pick-up list.
• If there is an item you do not want, you may “swap” it for another item that someone has left in the “swap bin” on the sign-in table.
• With the holidays coming, please check the CSA pick-up schedule for any changes.
• If you have any questions, you may ask the farmer at your pick-up or email our Program Coordinator, Yvette, at office@sweetwater-organic.org
• We will be harvesting a specific number of vegetable “shares” for our Members on each pick-up day.  If you are not able to make it to your pick-up, you may send a friend or neighbor to pick up on your behalf.  (They should initial next to your name on the pick-up sheet.) Or if a someone cannot pick-up for you, you may request a pick-up change with at least 48 hours notice.  Your request should be sent to Yvette at office@sweetwater-organic.org.  Please include the date you cannot make and when you would like to come instead.
• Please note that we are unable to make up a missed pick up!  We harvest a share for you whether you are able to pick it up or not.  If your share is not picked up, it will be donated or sold at Market.

Our hope is that together we will all live a healthier and richer existence through our connection with the vegetables we eat, the land we work and the community we grow.  I thank you immensely for your support and I look forward to seeing you at the farm!

P.S. Join us at Planter’s Ball this Saturday for a roaring good time of food, libations, music and to celebrate the first harvest.

On August 1st a Friend of the Farm set up a CSA challenge for our farm– to receive 50 CSA memberships in 60 Days to receive a $5000 donation. We are pleased to announce that we beat the challenge with 3 weeks to spare! Thanks to your help in spreading the word about our farm and the support of our community, the farm will receive this generous and important donation.

You can still participate in the second Refer a Friend Challenge until October 1st. Anyone who refers someone to our CSA program will receive $50 for a new Full membership sign-up and $25 for a new Half membership sign-up. You can refer someone whether you’re a CSA member, non-member, advocate, market supporter, field volunteer, local business owner, student…it doesn’t matter! There is no limit to the amount of people you can refer or the amount of money you can get for the referrals. The CSA referral program challenge ends after we reach 50 new memberships or October 1st, whichever occurs first.

In other good news, we are happy to announce that our Sweetwater Sunday Market is starting early this season! Join us for the Grand Opening of our Sunday market on Sunday, October 19th. Say hello to all your favorite local vendors and farmers while enjoying live music by Judy Tampa with Bunko Squad and Ronnie Elliot. The market goes from 12:00-4:00pm with music from 12:30-2:30pm.

Finally, they’re coming…

We are only three months away from the start of our 2014-2015 CSA season. Our farm team has been working hard researching new crops to add to the share, developing our crop plan, running Farm Camp and beautifying the grounds of the farm. In anticipation of our awesome season ahead we have two challenges for our CSA membership drive.

1) If 50 people sign-up for memberships in the next 60 days a generous Friend of the Farm will donate $5000 to the farm. Any CSA sign-up between August 1st and October 1st, renewing or new, counts towards this challenge. To our small farm a $5000 donation would be an enormous help– please help us win this exciting challenge!

2) Anyone who refers someone to our CSA program will receive $50 for a Full membership sign-up and $25 for a Half membership sign-up. You can refer someone whether you’re a CSA member, non-member, advocate, market supporter, field volunteer, local business owner, student…it doesn’t matter! There is no limit to the amount of people you can refer or the amount of money you can get for the referrals. The CSA referral program challenge ends after we reach 50 new memberships or October 1st.

Remember we now offer payment plans for CSA memberships and multiple pick-up locations around the Tampa Bay area. Be our grassroots network and help us get the word out!

As a non-profit farm we rely on early CSA membership sign-ups to buy seeds, have people to plant them, develop upcoming events, and to reach more kids through our education programs. By signing up for a CSA membership you are showing your support of sustainable agriculture, food security within Tampa Bay, and food education. Thank you for supporting our small farm and keeping us in your community!

As the season is nearing a close, we are all thinking “what am I going to do for my summer produce?!?” Last summer I experienced that slap in the face sentiment as our fields were cover cropped and the CSA ended. I would angrily stomp around the vegetable section of the grocery store mumbling about the individually plastic-wrapped organic produce while missing the fun experimentation of coming up with recipes each week based on what was in the share. As solace, I’d have to remind myself that like the crushing humid heat of the summer, the end of the CSA season is only temporary.

Get amped early for next season’s crops (our farm team has already been ogling awesome, new crop varieties to bring to your table) by reserving your 2014-2015 CSA membership now. It’ nice to think about when your pacing the produce isle and is a huge help to us to get everything started again over the summer.

In the mean time, if you are interested in trying to be your own grower this summer– check out Willow LaMonte’s Summer Gardening Workshop on Thursday, June 5th from 1:00-2:30 pm. Or if you have been saving your herbs to use during the off season or want to know how to better utilize herbs in your home cooking check out the Using Herbs in the Kitchen Workshop this Sunday, June 1st from 12:00-1:30 pm.

Some may like it hot, but those are usually not lettuces.  Many members of the Asteraceae family seed and bolt once temperatures rise.  Bolting is part of a lettuces’ lifecycle where the stalk elongates and produces a flower at the top with seeds. Unfortunately, bolting occurs prematurely when it gets hot leaving the heads of lettuce edible, but terribly bitter and small.  To continue to enjoy our gorgeous lettuces as the hot, hot heat comes we’ve planted some awesome summer varieties.  Specifically, Magenta and Nevada are fantastic summer crisp lettuces that size up nicely and are bolt resistant despite the heat.  Share your favorite summer salad recipe with us at recipes@sweetwater-organic.org

We love being able to experiment with new varieties, work with crops from seed to fruition in a small farm environment, grow a wide range of vegetables through out a given season, and know our food is being utilized locally.  We thank all of you who have been a part of our CSA and shown definitive support for sourcing locally grown, healthy food and the farm that grows it.  If you have not renewed your CSA yet or are waiting to try our CSA program please consider buying your 2014-2015 membership early.  Early memberships truly help the farm team plan for the summer ahead and get us started on the right foot for the next awesome season.

See you at the Farm!

Now we are moving into the crops that enjoy more of the hot days and thunder storms than some of us people can say.   Coming up in the share you may notice our leafy greens and kale are slowing down, but we’ll be seeing more and more of our delicious nightshade crops coming in!  So far we are still getting good yields from our potato crop and the tomatoes, peppers, and eggplants are coming along well in the fields. Potato fact from your Farmer: 2-3 weeks after potatoes blossom (and their flowers are very pretty by the way), the plants start to size up and produce more abundantly.  As the plant above ground begins to wither and fold, the roots down below turn into the nice sized potatoes you see in your share!

In addition, we have some beautiful aromatic herbs growing the fields and more are coming.  If you’d like to learn how to keep your own herb garden or how to use your herbs, check out our Herbal Kitchen Garden Workshop this Sunday, May 18th and Using Herbs in the Kitchen Workshop on Sunday, June 1st.

As the summer weather is approaching so is the end of this CSA season.  We are very thankful for our CSA members allowing us to keep our local farm going and growing!  The CSA model is truly a unique and important way of securing local, healthy food in our community. For us as farmers it allows us to have community members share in the bounties and risks of farming and know where our food is going very week.  Early CSA renewals and new memberships help us get the new season started again by buying seeds, keeping our fantastic farmers on through the off-season, preparing the soil through cover cropping and getting organic inputs in the ground.

The hope and desire of a CSA at its roots is to connect people with their food for a more healthy life for both individuals and the environment around us.  Being a part of a CSA allows you to eat seasonally diverse vegetables and have access to incredibly nutrient rich food that is freshly harvested.  CSAs supply individuals with many unique crops and varieties that are difficult, if not impossible, to find in grocery stores.  The vegetables aren’t shipped across state lines, food waste is minimized by knowing the amount you are harvesting for, soil health is maintained by thoughtful crop planning, water is used wisely by employing organic and sustainable methods, and the farm workers are your neighbors and fellow community members who care deeply about the harvest they produce and the people they are producing it for.

Early CSA renewals and new sign-ups are important to our farm.  It helps us know where we going, get planning for an awesome season ahead, and move forward through the summer.  Please consider getting your 2014-2015 CSA membership early and telling your friends about this unique food-centric program.  If you have any questions about our CSA program, concerns, or just want to share your thoughts please contact us.

First of all, a tremendous thanks to everyone who came out to PestoFesto last Saturday!  Guests, volunteers and farm crew alike made this celebration an outrageously good time. Despite the deluge prior to the festo festivities we had a magnificent time and turnout.  We hooped, hollered, toasted, bid, dined, grooved, drank, and danced all the rain threats away.  Thanks everybody for the good company and good vibes.

We have two new additions to the CSA share and farm harvest list this week.  Clio Dandelion Greens and Frisee Endive are both members of Chicory family and ridiculously high in Vitamin K.  Don’t worry–we’re not feeding you those obnoxious dandelion weeds that haunt your yard.  The Clio variety or Cichorium intybus is completely different than the troublesomeTarazacum officinale and way better for you.

See you at the farm!

Kaitlin

Program Coordinator

Hello Farm Friends,

Farm Friends,

We are pleased to announce a new variety to our CSA share– the Purple Burgundy string bean! These gorgeous bean pods bring the same tender, traditional string bean flavor that you’re used to while adding a royal flair to your favorite dish! If you’d like to preserve the color when adding them to your meal choose a unique salad or raw recipe to keep the deep purple color as they do change to green when cooked.

Reserve your membership for next season to ensure you get unique, local and nutritious vegetables that you can’t get during your trip to the grocery store!

Sign up now!

Mixing art and agriculture, the exhibit “Sustainable Farming: Art for Advocacy” will showcase individual artists’ representations and hopes for sustainable farming. This Earth Day inspired exhibit will be on Monday, April 21st at Stetson University College of Law (1401 61st St. S, Gulfport, FL) at 5:00pm in the foyer between the Great Hall and Mann Lounge. A portion of the proceeds of all purchased artwork will be donated to Sweetwater.

A friendly reminder that this Sunday, April 20th the farm will be closed for Easter.  There will be no CSA share pick-up or Sunday Market.  The CSA Member pick-up is rescheduled for Saturday, April 19th at the farm from 12:00-4:00pm.  (All other pick-ups this week remain unchanged.)

See you at the Farm!

Kaitlin

Program Coordinator

outreach@sweetwater-organic.org

Farm Friends,

We have now arrived at that gorgeous time of year where we can enjoy the best of the cold weather crops and the warm weather crops. Our Provider Green Beans are back in action, and have really started to produce— we can hardly pick them as quickly as they are growing! One of my personal favorite summer vegetables for its taste and how satisfying it is to harvest —-Summer Squash is coming back to the share as well. The Paddy Pan and Zucchini are looking sublime! Tell us what your favorite green bean and summer squash recipes are by sending them to recipes@sweetwater-organic.org so we can share them with other veggie lovers!

We have a selection of events this week at Sweetwater! If you’re interested in Florida Native plants and foraging, on Thursday, April 10th from 1:00-3:00pm we’ll have the “Wild Edible Plants with Willow LaMonte” workshop at the farm. Or if you’d like to come be farmer for a day, we are having our first “Farm & Brew” event this Saturday, April 12th! Come out to volunteer in the afternoon from 12:00-4:00pm then meet us at Florida Avenue Brewing Company to cool off and enjoy some cold ones from 5:00-11:00pm. Florida Avenue Brewing is generous enough to donate 20% of all sales Saturday evening to our Farm! Finally, if you are looking to try out a new (and by that I mean ancient) way to exercise and balance your mind come out to our “Introduction to Tai Chi” class on Sunday, April 13th from 1:00-2:00pm.

Do you pick-up at the farm on Sundays? If so, a friendly reminder that on Sunday, April 20th we will be closed for Easter. The pick-up is rescheduled for Saturday, April 19th at the Farm from 12-4pm.

See you at the Farm!

Kaitlin

Program Coordinator

outreach@sweetwater-organic.org

As the weather begins to warm again, perhaps you’re thinking about some nice ways to keep cool come summer? If you really want to stay cool, now is the time to sign up for a new CSA membership with our farm! Not only will you be the hippest house on the block for supporting your local farmers, you’ll also be receiving the freshest produce available in all the Bay area!

Imagine when autumn rolls back around and you show your friends and neighbors all the lovely organic vegetables you picked up from Sweetwater. See the smile spread across your face as you feel the satisfaction of making a good choice. Not only will your tummy be happy, your wallet will be, too!

Some of you may be thinking, “Gee, that sounds great, but I don’t know if I can make it to the farm every week…” Fear not! We have expanded our pick-up options for next season, so even more people can enjoy our seasonal treats. Here is a breakdown of pick-up times and locations:

Mondays, 3:30p-5:30p- University of South Florida Botanical Garden

Thursdays, Noon-6:00p- Sweetwater Organic Community Farm

Thursdays, 4:00p-7:00p- Buddy Brew Coffee in South Tampa (Kennedy Blvd.)

Fridays, 4:00p-6:30p- The Body Electric Yoga Company in St. Petersburg

Sundays, Noon-4:00p- Sweetwater Organic Community Farmer’s Market

We still have memberships available. Remember that you can always share the cost with your family or friends, in which case, everybody wins! A half membership for this coming season is $475 (produce for a total of fifteen weeks at about $31 a week) and the full membership is $850 (produce for a total of thirty weeks at about $28 a week).

See you at the Farm!

Chris

Education Program Manager

education@sweetwater-organic.org